A massive cyberattack affected hundreds of websites in Panama, Chile and Colombia, where state portals for public health and justice services were disabled, the Colombian government reported on Thursday.
These types of cyber attacks typically access vulnerable computer systems and encrypt or steal data, before sending a ransom note demanding payment in exchange for decryption or non-renewal. this in public.
Judiciary and Health review
Unidentified individuals were “kidnapped by the data that IFX had on its servers (…) important entities such as the judicial branch and the health branch were involved,” whose public service portals are no longer available, Kattan detailed.
Colombia’s Supreme Court of Justice suspended the deadlines for its proceedings for a week, except for those “involving a detained person” or “files close to the statute of limitations,” said the high court in a statement.
The adviser added that the attack also affected public and private institutions “in other countries in the region.”
Chile and Panama
In Chile, the portal mercadopublico.cl, a platform that manages state purchases, reported through the social network X (formerly Twitter) that it was interrupted “due to a cybersecurity problem” with IFX.
While in Panama the publishing house Panamá América reported that the portals of its newspapers Crítica, Panamá América and Día a Día were no longer available for the same reason.
According to the Colombian government, “762 Spanish American companies” were affected by the cyberattack launched on September 12 by unknown persons.
IFX also has a presence in Argentina, where the government has not yet reported any damage.
In Colombia, the ministries of Health, Culture, Industry and Commerce and dozens of other state organizations are affected.
Among the affected entities in Colombia are the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Culture, Superintendency of Industry and Commerce and dozens of other state organizations.
“There is a significant amount of information that is in the hands of criminals,” Kattan warned.
Like the Supreme Court, other Colombian courts have decided to “suspend” the deadlines of their processes for a week, except for appeals for guardianship, habeas corpus and control of guarantees, which will be processed through the email or in person. .
Also, the Ministry of Health reported in a statement that the complaints service is no longer in service and it has launched a new website and phone line to process complaints.
The presidency said the priority is to restore health services
The Presidency said the priority is to restore health services.
He also assured that the Colombian prosecutor’s office has sent a special team to the IFX offices to collect evidence.
“This attack can be considered the biggest attack on Colombia’s infrastructure in recent years,” commented Kattan, who called for the immediate creation of a national digital security agency.
